When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) Polish-American rabbi, theologian, philosopher

(Attributed)
    (Source)

Quoted by his student, Harold S. Kushner, in When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, ch. 3 (1986). Also attributed (without citation) to Milton Steinberg and Oscar Wilde.

Variants:

• "When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am older, I admire kind people."
• "When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people."